Tropical Storm Ida, Stephen Fields Beach, Plymouth, Massachusetts I was living on Long Island, a hurricane was bearing down. The question was, would it strengthen or weaken? The consensus was it would weaken, so now evacuations took place. I had the weekend free, I wanted to be in New England for the storm. It was […]
Real ghost stories and the locations that inspired them
Today’s Marginalia: Station Two of the Glencolumcille Tura, a pilgrimage on the edge of the world
Glencolumcille, or in the Gaelic, has been a religious site for over 5,000 years. It was one of earliest Christian sites in Europe, dating to the sixth century. The landscape around the village is dotted with ancient sites from the neolithic period, but the Christians turned the landscape into a stations of the cross, based […]
At Monkton Farleigh, the ghost of a very thirsty monk
There once stood a priory in the village of Monkton Farleigh, in Wiltshire. This small village is blessed, or cursed with a handful of hauntings. The building above, built in the eleventh century was a conduit for water to run to the priory, which now sits in ruins near the site. It is said that […]
The Daily Ramble: The River Chew at Pensford, Somerset
The village of Pensford is in Somerset, Great Britain. We stumbled upon it in search of the Stanton Drew stone circles, and were mesmerized by this view. A great flood of the River Chew in 1968 damaged the railroad viaduct in the background so extensively it never reopened. Also damaged was the St Thomas […]
Eating Poe, Part II: Edgar Allan Poe’s time on Sullivan’s Island and debunking a Charleston myth
I wake up before dawn and heard the ocean outside. The dunes separate the beach house from the sea itself, but not the smell of the ocean, nor the pounding of the surf, a dull thud, without the crackle and sizzle of the foam. The sky is beginning to lighten, I get dressed and grab […]
Eating Poe: Part One, Richmond and an Author’s Forward
Poe stands for every fucked up soul who wandered a graveyard on a dark and lonely night. For every person who has grieved to the point of madness, and who can draw a line between dread and fear with a sharp point pen. Poe is the beacon of darkness, the one who first reached the […]
Answering Glastonbury’s call
I’M SITTING OUTSIDE AT THE MOCHA BERRY CAFE, talking to Vickie Steward, author of one of the most eclectic blogs out there, about one of the most eclectic towns in Britain, Glastonbury. Normal For Glastonbury is the blog, and Vickie has the enviable job of documenting the goings on in this peculiar little place. A […]
Climbing Glastonbury Tor in search of the divine
“Avalon will always be there for all men to find if they can seek the way thither, throughout all the ages past the ages. If they cannot find the way to Avalon, it is a sign, perhaps, that they are not ready.” ― Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon + + + I came […]
Hanging out amongst the spirits at Glastonbury’s George and Pilgrim Hotel
It easier than you’d think to have a nap on High Street in Glastonbury. Young, dreadlocked people do it quite a lot. Older dreadlocked or pony tailed people do it as well. I wanted a bed. The best place to find a place to stay in Glastonbury is the Tribunal on High Street. Actually the accommodation […]
A Visit to Gog and Magog in the Glastonbury Zodiac, and A Spell For The Protection From Anger
I took off from the George and Pilgrim Hotel about ten in the morning. I was really kind of excited to be getting out of there. It’s moody and dark, which I love. But I needed the light. I had light for the first block I walked up High Street. It’s not that steep of […]
